Postkiwi

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.” Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip answered, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

John 1: 43-51 (Contemporary English Version)

I wonder what Jesus saw under the fig tree. Who would break out into an acknowledgement of leadership just because he’d been seen before. This has the hallmark of someone’s actions being seen with insight into the most inner thoughts. Jesus must have seen something that showed integrity and cunning.

Israel, or Jacob, was known for being deceitful. He’s the guy who tricked his older twin brother out of his inheritance by impersonating him in front of his blind father. He’s the one who built up his flocks at the cost of his father-in-law by organising the livestock gene pool. So if Israel was deceitful, what was Jesus referring to by saying that Nathaniel was a ‘true descendant of Israel, without deceit.’ My hunch is that Jesus was referring to the knack Jacob/Israel had for doing business. The same business sense for which Jewish people seem to have acquired a reputation around the world through history.